Feds settle with city over Agriculture Street Landfill site

The federal government has settled a lawsuit against the city of New Orleans over a contaminated Superfund site that reopened decades ago to burn hurricane debris.

A consent decree filed in federal court calls for the city to maintain a synthetic liner and a soil cap over the Agriculture Street Landfill in eastern New Orleans.

But the city didn't admit any liability in the case and isn't required to pay for any cleanup costs or civil penalties.

The federal government reviewed the city's finances and determined that it can't afford to pay any money as part of the settlement, due to its "extraordinary financial difficulties" after Hurricane Katrina, according to the 38-page consent decree, filed Wednesday.

"We're pleased that we've been able to resolve this matter with the city," said Justice Department spokesman Andrew Ames.

The city operated the landfill from 1909 until the late 1950s and reopened it to burn debris from Hurricane Betsy in 1965. During the 1970s and 1980s, residential neighborhoods were built over more than 40 acres of the site.

The Environmental Protection Agency added the site to its national list of Superfund sites in 1994, after arsenic, lead and other hazardous materials were found on the property. The EPA has cleaned up the property, and portions of the site already have been removed from the Superfund list.

The government sued the city and several companies because they owned or operated portions of the site where hazardous material was found.

The Justice Department already had settled with other defendants in the case. CFI Industries Inc. and its parent company, IPC Inc., agreed in March 2005 to pay $1.75 million, plus interest. BFI Waste Systems of North America Inc. agreed in 2007 to pay $335,000, plus interest.

The Justice Department also has reached tentative settlement agreements with Delta By-Products Inc. and Edward Levy Metals, Inc., but those haven't been completed yet.